The presence of ice in navigable waters impedes the progress of ships therethrough because of, among other things, friction created by the hull of a ship rubbing against large pieces of ice. A variety of ice lubrication systems for reducing such friction have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,886 describes means for discharging heated water from above the water line of the ship to melt ice proximate thereto, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,580,204 and 4,029,035 describe pump and pipe arrangements designed to blow compressed air or other gases through openings in a ship's hull below the waterline. The gas so discharged rises alongside the hull, creating a ridge of gas and water between the hull and the ice. Such prior art devices typically require means for compressing the gases and/or heating the water utilized by the system.